I finally achieved a personal ambition – a shot St Paul’s across the Millennium Bridge without people in it. The composition is a long way from perfect, and I really wish that sodding seagul hadn’t been there, but I had about five seconds to snap this, as there was a bloke coming up behind me. but still, I got the damn thing. One of London’s best views, unspoiled by humans. I’ll try again at some point in the summer, I think.

I was round an art exhibition the other week with some friends. Some of it was unmitigated toss, some of it was OK, and mostly it was the building that was the star. But here’s a shot of one of the better works. Still if I’m honest, my photo of this piece appeals to me far more than the piece itself did. This is another shot where I knew exactly what effect I’d be post-processing for, removing detail, and replacing it with heavy shadow, before I even took the shot.

It’s a photo of someone else’s art, that, on the one hand doesn’t entire do the piece justice. On the other, I shot this working in the pitch sodding black, with a tiny light source, and a less than ideal lens, and it came out as more or less exactly the shot I was after. Go me.

This is not going to win any prizes as one of the finest photos I’ve ever taken. It’s not even the best photo I took yesterday. But there’s a point to be made here.

This is a photo of The Shell Centre on London’s South Bank. I took a few snaps on a whim as I was wandering past heading for more interesting subjects. At which point, a security guard came out, and told me I couldn’t do that – apparently taking photos of the Shell Centre is frowned on by the management, and they like to tell people that can’t do that.

He seemed slightly taken aback when I said that I was fully aware of my rights, and absent a police officer telling me otherwise, when I am standing in a public place, I an fully entitled to take a photo of anything I can see, so long as it’s for non-commercial purposes (my rights are actually bit more extensive than that, but it’s the broadest catch all definition I know). He got slightly aggressive about this, but I am a six foot skinhead in a biker jacket, and I find that the speaking in a calm but extremely certain tone of voice generally works wonders. After a few more attempts to tell me I couldn’t do what I was doing, he said he was going to get his supervisor. I said that was fine, took a few more photos, and was on my way.

Honestly, had it not been for this little prick, I would not have put this photo or any of the other ones I took of the Shell Centre on-line. As it is, they’re all there, released under the widest Creative Commons license I can, just in case anyone would like to use them. It’s not likely, but I really don’t like being told I can’t take photos but jumped up arseholes with a false sense of authority, so if anyone’s got a use for these pics, please, use them with my blessing. I hope they make you very rich.

And if anyone happens to be passing the Shell Centre with a Camera, I urge you to and take photos.

A little study in colour and texture, snapped on a whim, for a pleasingly alien effect.

One of a pair of just-about-acceptable shots I took the other week, leaving work. The Thames at low tide has an absolutely magical stillness to it. At least it does till some sod in a motorboatd comes past and wrecks it, as happened about two minutes later.

Have to admit, I was cursing my lack of a proper camera and a tripod as I was taking these, but better to get these than nothing at all.

Another one from the archives that I’m not certain why I didn’t post. I think I may have been going through one of my total utter perfectionist stages (as opposed to my usual perfectionist state) – as I can’t help feeling the composition’s off here, but I like the quality of the light, and the sky enough in this one to post it now, at any rate.

One from quite a while ago that I didn’t post at the time, but looking at it now, I quite like it. The title is a reference to the history of the location – this is part of where the Savoy Palace used to stand, before it was burned down in the Peasants Revolt.

OK, that’s not a clever title. Tough. Nor is it exactly a normal portrait. Don’t care. I really like this one – there’s just enough light in the shadow to give definitition and shape, rather than just being a silhouette, which is what I was going for.

There’s a dozen or so shots from ths gig on my flickrstream. I may post a few more of the better ones over the next couple of days.

I know I’m guilty of this. I spent fully half the gig last night with the camera in front of me. But y’know what: the LCD on my DSLR screen is not active unless I have just taken a shot, and which point it is obscured because it is in front of my fucking head. I don’t like shooting with point and shoots as gig, because I am aware that they have these distractingly glow-y screens.

And also, they’re rubbish for it.